Ways to Explore

Surprising stories from survivors in New Orleans. We give people who were in the storm more time than daily news coverage can to tell their stories and talk about what they're thinking. This leads to a number of ideas that haven't made it into the regular news coverage.

In August 2004, Hurricane Charley devastated parts of Florida. Afterwards, FEMA built a trailer park to provide immediate temporary housing for those who'd lost their homes in the storm. More than a year later, over 500 trailers are still there—and in them, more than a thousand people with nowhere else to go. Just this week in the New York Times, a FEMA official said that the kinds of mobile homes found in Punta Gorda may become "the standard" for those left without homes due to Hurricane Katrina. This American Life producer Lisa Pollak talked to the park's residents to see how things are going and talk about their prospects for moving on a year later. (5 minutes)Homelessness • Housing • Natural Disasters